[rparker]

OK, maybe the wrong place to ask about this, given that it is not an oily sort of problem! The stereo in my 9000 is giving up the ghost, the volume control is playing up and sometimes refuses to respond, other times it will occasionally give full blast, which is quite loud from the top end sound system fitted in an Aero, the first time it happened I nearly died of a heart attack, it was that unnerving! Anyway, I figured that being a chap who is quite handy with electonics in general, I could easily sort this out. Sadly not.

After having the original head unit apart and cleaning the volume control pot failed to fix it, I replaced the head unit for a nice mp3 player JVC job with line-outs to attach to the Aero amp. It worked, but there was constant noise on the line outs, as if they were not the right impedance to match the amplifier.

Bypassing the amplifier removed the noise, but obviously sounded very poor in comparison to the original. This led me to get rid of it, because at motorway speeds the noise was really quite annoying.

Onto the nub of my question, has anybody fitted an aftermarket stereo to an Aero with the monster amp under the driver seat (and used it rather than bypassing it) and had good results? If so, would you share the make and model of head unit? Alternatively is there anybody out there with a spare working Saab/Clarion head unit they would be willing to part with to replace mine? Not sure how many models were fitted to the cars over the years, but mine is one that connects to a 6-disc CD changer, with a small removeable security panel that has the preset and track skip buttons on it.

Many thanks,

Richard

 

[adrian]

I believe the standard amp is pretty low output by todays standards, most people just by-pass the amp with a new head unit.

Personally I'm quite happy with the standard set-up - so much so I refitted one to my recently bought Aero (which had been replaced) and have another to fit to my c900 convert. - this way I have the same stereo in all three of my Saabs - makes it easier to understand all the buttons

I picked up two standard head units for around £40 each - they do come up for sale every so often. Abbotts had one recently including sindle CD player for £500

I'd give that one a miss!!

 

[rparker]

Thanks Adrian,

At least I can have hope that there are original ones out there somewhere to buy! I agree 100% that the original spec is just fine, the only reason I tried a JVC was that I couldn't find a Saab/Clarion head unit anywhere on ebay or 2nd hand, and I got a good deal on it

Ultimately no use though. I did bypass the amp, but the sound just wasn't as good as I was used to with the original kit, so I thought I'd try it. Any chance you can tell me where you found your spare radios from? £500 is a crazy sum of money

I can get a new headunit, amp and changer for less than that I should think! Although being from Abbott it probably gives an extra 25 horses as well

 

[ylee coyote]

Soory I sold mine to adrian (still not fitted it ? )
I have fitted a couple of aftermarket hi-power head units (both sony ) and they comfortably outperformed the origonal
I cannot praise them enough but they were both from the expensive end of the range ..
I like the twiddly wand which you can fit to the steering wheel boss thing and you can operate it without taking your hands from the wheel
the saab amp is rated at under 30 wpc iirc
hi power ones today are pushing out over 50...

 

[arawson]

The Saab amp is rated at 4 x 32W I believe. However, power isn't everything and it's the tonal quality of the amp that I tend to judge them by.

I'm still happily running the standard Saab set up in my Aero (despite the bulbs in the head unit gradually dying!) and find it well suited to the acoustics of the car. This is very much a personal preference thing so I guess you stick with what sounds best.

I always find buying car hi-fi a bit of a lottery as you can't really audition it in the car for a couple of days before buying like you can with the home stuff. I can almost hear the Halfords boys laughing at that request...